Closure for collapsible tubes and the like.



H. M. RUSSELL, J11. CLOSURE FOR GOLLAPSIBLE TUBES AND THE LIKE.

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1,081,555. Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

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WITNESSES. 7

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H. M.- RUSSELL, JR. LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL 11111111111111111111111111 2.

Patented Dec. 16,1913.

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HENRY M. RUSSELL, '13., 0F WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA.

CLOSURE FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES AND THE LIKE.-

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To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY M. Rossnnn, Jr., of Wheeling, Ohio county, West Vlrginia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Closures for Collapsible Tubes and the like, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of one form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a similar section of this form after it has been broken and the relative position of the parts has been changed; Fig. 3 is a view of a slightly different form of the invention; and Fig. 4 is a section of this form after it has been broken and the relative position of its parts has been changed.

My invention relates to closures for collapsible tubes such as are made from soft metal on a press by the extrusion process.

Among the objects of my invention are to provide a closure which will be hermetically sealed during shipment and until once opened by the consumer, which will be easy to open without tools and when once opened may easily be temporarily closed and which can be formed in solid dies on presses now used for making collapsible tubes and which, if desired, can be formed during the operation of making the tube.

My invention consists of a hollow neck attached to the tube or other container and threaded on the inside. A threaded stopper is attached to the neck in such a way as to close the latter. the neck and the stopper is very thin sothat the stopper may be broken 03 leaving the neck open, and afterward reversed and screwed into the neck to close it temporarily.

Referring now to the figures: Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the simplest form of my invention as applied to a collapsible tube. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same form after the stopper has been broken off and screwed into the neck. In both these figures the numeral t refers to a fragment of the body of the collapsible tube, and 5 denotes the breast of the tube.

The numeral 6 designatesthe neck portion; 7 is a cylindrical portion of the closure of smaller diameter than the neck 6; and 8 is the threaded portion of the stopper.

Fig. 3 is a view of a slightly difierent form of the improved closure and Fig. 4 is a Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed February 10, 1912. Serial No. 676,922.

The connection between Patented Dec. 1%, 1913.

longitudinal section of this form after the stopper has been broken off and screwed into the neck. s

In Figs. 3 and 4 the numeral 9 designates the breast of the collapsible tube; 10 is the neck; 11 is a cylindrical portion of the closure of smaller diameter than the neck; 12 is the threaded portion of the stopper; and 13 is a groove in this portion designed to furnish a temporary opening when the stoper is screwed part way out. For containers of the kind to which this improvement is applicable, such as.collapsible tubes, it is desirable to have a closure that may be formed completely or largely in the same operations by which the tube itself is formed. On accountof the very high pressures required to form the tubes, it would be very difiicult, if not impossible, to use a split die. So the closure should be of such form that it can be made as nearly complete as-possible in the die which forms the tube and this die must be solid-that is without any longitudinal scams or joints. To accomplish this, each part of the closure must be capable of being withdrawn through those parts of the die which formed the outside of any arts of the closure nearer to the tube. Li rewise, the closure must be capable of removal without deformation from the solid punch which formed the interior of it and of the tubes. Now it is plain that if we thread the outside of the neck in the usual way and make integral with the neck a cap that will fit these threads, we cannot under the above limitations form a groove between the two that will allow them to be easily broken apart. Even when we reverse the threads, threading the neck internally and the stopper externally, we cannot form a circular groove either inside or outside between the two threaded portions. But I contract the neck below. the top of the internally threaded hole in it, to a cylinder of a diameter that only misses the thread groove by a small distance. This gives me a very thin wall all the way around on a helical line, which makes the closure breakable and fulfils all the conditions above'set forth.

Looking at Fig. 1 it is plain that the closure is of such a shape that it may be screwed out of the die that formed the outer surface and off the punch that formed the inner surface leaving everything intact, provided onl thepunch be rotatable with respect to t e die. The formshown in Figs. 3 .and 4 shows some variations. 7 First, the shoulder at thetop of the neck 10, where the contracted portion 11 starts, is not level but is helical in.

the stopper need not be removed and is less liable to loss. It also forms an oblong opening if desired so that the contents will issue in the form of a ribbon. These two variations have no necessary connection. Either may be applied without the other. To make the groove one additional operation would probably be used. Either the groove or the said neck and of external threads would be made in the solid die and the one not so made would be cut afterward.

I have laid stress on the methods of manufacture, because the characteristics of the closure which niake it easy to manufacture are as important parts of my'invention as those which enable it to perform its functions.

In the claims certain threads are said to correspond to certain other threads. By this is meant that one of the threads is an external thread and the other an internal one and that they are eitherboth right handed or-both left handed and that the pitch and other dimensions are equal. In other words two threaded parts are spoken of as corres onding when one will fit into the other 1' e a bolt into its nut.

I claim:

1'. A collapsible tube formed of soft metal and comprising a body, a breast integral vwith one end of said body, a neck integral with said breast a tip formed integral with smaller diameter than said neck, the outer end portion of said tip being screw-threaded, a similarly screw-threaded opening being formed in said neck, said opening extending through the neck and into the adjacent end of the tip, whereby the juncture between the neck and the tip is weakened.

2. A collapsible tube formed of soft metal and comprising a body, a breast integral with one end of said body, a neck integral with said breast, a ti formed integral with said neck and of sma ler diameter than said neck, whereb a shoulder so formed between the neck an the tip, said shoulder being helical, the outer end portion of said tip being screw-threaded, a similarly screwthreaded opening being formed through said neck, said opening extendin into the adjacent end of the tip, where y the juncture between the neck and the tip is weakened.

3. A collapsible tube formed of soft metal and comprising a body, a breast integral with one end of said body, a neck integral with said breast a ti form integral with said neck and of sma ler diameter than said neck, the outer end portion of said tip being screw-threaded, a similarly screw-threaded opening being formed in said neck, said opening extending through the neck and into the adjacent end of the tip, whereby the juncture between the neck and the tip is weakened, and a part of the threaded portion ofthe tip being longitudinally grooved to form an outlet.

4. A collapsible tube formed of soft metal and havin an internally threaded neck, and an externa ly similarly threaded tip integral with said neck, the junction between the neck and the tip bein weakened by the internal threads, where y the tip may be broken 0E and screwed into the neck.

5. A collapsible tube formed of soft metal and having a hollow internally threaded neck and an externally similarly threaded tip integral therewith, the tip being of smaller diameter than the neck and the hollow of the neck extending beyond the junction of the neck and tip, whereby the latter may be broken from the former, at the juncture.

HENRY M. RUSSELL, JR. Witnesses:

GIBSON L. CALDWELL, MARIA L. HOLLIDAY. 

